1. Ford’s Escape Routes
Reality shows and gamification, meet Social TV.
With innovative technology and development and keen insight into
user behavior and optimium engagement practices, ROKKAN created
a completely interactive Social TV experience in just six months.
Results Backstory.
Building a vehicle with relevant features, and then marketing it among the fray of other automobile
6 months total project time (preparation, makers is no small feat. Creating the first fully-interactive prime-time reality TV competition to show it off
execution, post-project support/wrap-up) to as many people as possible to drive sales and interest is an even bigger challenge.
1 Facebook Page: Ford Escape The all-new 2013 Ford Escape, is an SUV with unmatched versatility, new technologies, and a highway
25,000+ new Facebook Page likes fuel economy – all wrapped in a modern design. In order to successfully communicate all of the new
501 avg. daily unique users on FB innovations in the 2013 Escape, Ford collaborated with an integrated agency team to create Escape
Routes: a reality competition hosted by Rossi Morreale, broadcasted on Saturday nights on NBC and
63,834,913 total unique impressions featured on Hulu, where viewers at home were able to follow and affect the outcome of six teams as
of FB Page content
they traveled across the country competing in extreme, real-life challenges.
1 Twitter handle: @FordEscape
Ford looked to ROKKAN effectively create and launch the sizeable digital and technological
3,471 new Twitter followers to components of the show, many of which are completely new technologies, or applications of social
@FordEscape; all organic follows
media integration and engagement.
31,000+ tweets using #escaperoutes
Approach.
After the success of Ford’s 2011 web-series Focus Rally, ROKKAN was again tapped to architect the
entire technical solution for Escape Routes, taking over strategic leadership on all interactive elements
of the show. ROKKAN conceived of a new kind of reality show that incorporated the complete
Services integration of the traditional TV experience and social media—taking into account the “second screen”
phenomenon of most TV watchers who are viewing while on their phone, tablet, or laptop.
− Strategy Add interactive gamification to that mix, along with real-time live-streaming video, and Escape Routes
− Creative/Design was born: a fully realized Social TV experience combining social media with live TV, and interactive
gaming with live-streaming video. Escape Routes is the first mass-media foray into Social TV.
− UX & IA
− Technology & Development Process.
Partnering with Profiles Television (creators of The Amazing Race), who handles video production for
the show, EscapeRoutes.com streamed live video feeds from inside the teams’ lofts and vehicles.
Users watching these real-time feeds could chat with the cast and other members of the audience via
Twitter, Facebook, and chat windows on EscapeRoutes.com.
The challenges that the ER teams faced on the show ranged from trivia about Americana to death-
defying feats, their only support being the participation of viewers at home to help guide the teams
to victory. Often, at-home viewers had to tweet their help to their chosen team via unique hashtags,
Facebook comment clues, and more. From baking chickens, to dangling off the side of a building, the
ER teams had only each other, and their at-home fans plugged in at EscapeRoutes.com to get them to
the finish line and the Grand Prize of two 2013 Ford Escapes and $100,000.
the digital agency
ROKKAN | 176 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, New York CIty, NY 10003 | www.rokkan.com 1

2. Ford’s Escape Routes
Reality shows and gamification, meet Social TV.
Users at home were required to register with the program in order to participate, earning points for
loyalty, recruitment and interaction with their teams. Once enough points were accrued, viewers at
home were able to aid their teams with weekly interactive challenges.
Executions:
• EscapeRoutes.com
• Building the entire site experience in three phases (pre-season, live season, post-season)
• Architecting the gaming mechanics/badges behind users’ experience on EscapeRoutes.com
• Creating all the Interactive Escape Challenges (all of the Challenges on the show that involved the
Social TV/social media components through fans’ interaction via EscapeRoutes.com)
• Pioneering the technology behind “GameStream,” the live-video chat gameshow hosted by
YouTube personality iJustine. The gameshow took place on EscapeRoutes.com every Sunday after
The Power of Social TV
the Saturday night airing of Escape Routes.
March 2012 project launch date • Social Media oversight, community management and maintenance, and content creation
1 YouTube Channel: /fordescape including: blogging, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
69,676 YouTube video views Results.
1 EscapeRoutes.com What followed the concept, design and development of Escape Routes was a response that
30,000+ registrants to play along via exceeded all of our KPIs and objectives. Over the 8-week engagement, EscapeRoutes.com
EscapeRoutes.com enlisted over 30,000 registrants. The Ford Escape Facebook community grew by over 25,000 likes,
342,336 site visits with an average of 500 unique users engaging with the Page each day. The campaign saw the
launch of the Ford Escape presence on Twitter, gaining over 3,400 @FordEscape followers. In total,
549,675 unique visitors to the #escaperoutes hashtag was used over 31,000 times on Twitter.
EscapeRoutes.com
3,162,312 total pageviews In short, Escape Routes was the largest interactive reality television show ever created. All thanks
to the power of interactive and entertaining digital media.
Takeaways.
Up until now, it’s never been possible to interact or “talk back” to the TV – with this campaign
&
viewers were able to interact cooperatively with the cast to determine the outcome of the contest
in real time using social media.
One of the first campaigns to fully integrate a traditional television production schedule,
accommodating time zones, and integrating online content in parallel, to broadcast a prime-time
show in the same week of filming.
One of the first, most progressive social TV campaigns, a true cross-platform marketing initiative
that leveraged their social influence/followers to recruit as many active users as possible
Integration of “digital host” iJustine leveraged her extensive online community (YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to boost awareness of the show, and to host a weekly web-exclusive
Game Show where users answered show-related trivia for prizes.
the digital agency
ROKKAN | 176 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, New York CIty, NY 10003 | www.rokkan.com 2

3. Ford’s Escape Routes
Reality shows and gamification, meet Social TV.
RESEARCH &
the digital agency
ROKKAN | 176 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, New York CIty, NY 10003 | www.rokkan.com 3

4. Ford’s Escape Routes
Reality shows and gamification, meet Social TV.
RESEARCH &
the digital agency
ROKKAN | 176 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, New York CIty, NY 10003 | www.rokkan.com 4

5. Ford’s Escape Routes
Reality shows and gamification, meet Social TV.
RESEARCH &
the digital agency
ROKKAN | 176 Grand Street, 2nd Floor, New York CIty, NY 10003 | www.rokkan.com 5